Tall, Light Vegan Coconut Oil Biscuits

You can’t go wrong with coconut oil biscuits. I’ve been making these for over a decade now and they’re always excellent. It’s a great way to make vegan biscuits without have to buy a specific type of margarine, with just six ingredients, and ready in minutes. I often don’t cut the biscuits into rounds, just quickly roll out and cut into squares, and that’s great too.

While I usually make a loaf of dark rye bread or lighter sourdough rye bread each week, sometimes it’s nice to have a quick biscuit recipe on hand for soups or as a simple side dish. I’ve made these hundreds of times over the years and they’re always a hit. Biscuits can be on the table in less than 20 minutes – about the time it takes for soup to cook!

I also find these are more reliable than trying to make American-style biscuits with butter substitutes, because they vary so much from brand to brand – coconut oil is pretty much the same no matter what. Like most of my baking recipes, these are made with spelt flour, but you can use plain white flour. More on that below.

I first published this recipe in 2017. It has been updated with more helpful information, some slight updates to improve the recipe, and new step-by-step photos.

How to Make Vegan Biscuits

The method is much the same as with butter biscuits, but with no need to chill the dough. If your home is very warm, you can pop the cut out biscuits on the baking sheet into the refrigerator or freezer while the oven preheats.

Step 1: add the dry ingredients to a mixing bowl and whisk to combine. If the baking soda or powder have any lumps, sift them through a fine-mesh sieve first to prevent any bits of baking soda in the biscuits.

Step 2: use your fingers or a pastry blender to mix in the coconut oil. It’s not as important for everything to stay extremely cold like it is for butter biscuits, so it’s perfectly all right to briefly mix with your hands. The pieces should be about pea-sized once mixed.

Step 3: use a wooden spoon or spatula to stir in the milk mixture until just combined. It’ll seem pretty soft at this point but that’s normal – you’ll be doing the next step with some flour, so it won’t stick.

Step 4: transfer to a lightly floured surface, pat into shape, then fold twice to create layers (see video if needed). Pat it out again to the right thickness, being careful not to over work the dough at this stage.

Step 5: use a knife or round cutter to cut the biscuits into your desired shape. Cutting into squares removes the need to shape the dough again, but the biscuits have a stronger rise when cut into rounds.

Step 6: place the biscuits onto a baking sheet, brush the tops with milk, and bake until golden. Depending on the type of milk, they may brown more or less. I find soya milk gives the best browning.

If you can’t see the recipe video, please watch it here on YouTube instead.

Expert Tips for the Best Biscuits

• Change the type of milk: a creamier milk will make for a richer biscuit. Regular oat milk makes them rather light, while full-fat canned coconut milk will result in something more like a tea biscuit or cream scone.
• Make drop biscuits: if you want to skip the step of cutting out the biscuits, make easy vegan drop biscuits instead. Use a regular tablespoon to drop portions of dough onto the baking sheet, then bake until lightly golden. Skip the milk wash if making drop biscuits.
• Mix with a machine: a food processor can also be used to mix the dough, particularly useful for incorporating the coconut oil. You have to be careful not to over mix if using a processor, though – be sure to pulse briefly rather than mixing for an extended period. If you’re uncertain then use it only to mix in the oil before switching to stirring in the milk by hand.
• For taller biscuits: because these are made with spelt flour and coconut oil, they’re simply not as tall as standard biscuits. If you want them to be a bit taller, bake them in a smaller dish where the edges will touch, forcing them to rise further.
• Don’t twist when cutting: when cutting round biscuits, move the cutter straight up and down, with no twisting. The twisting motion seals the edges of the biscuit and make it more difficult for it to rise properly.
• Give the buttermilk some time: you’ll want to give your ‘buttermilk’ at least five minutes to curdle slightly. This extra acid reacts with the leavening agents and creates a greater rise when baking.
• Use light hands: don’t work the dough like mad. Use quick, light hands to cut in the oil, then mix the milk in until just combined. Don’t knead as you would a yeast bread.
• Don’t overwork the dough: fold and press out the mixed dough as few times as possible to get the lightest biscuits. You can cut them into squares rather than rounds to avoid folding it for a second time.